Disappointing news. https://www.facebook.com/MicroTrain....1483069573./1408624092513492/?type=3&theater
Trust me, they don't want to lose this loco. They originally made it to be their train set loco, but they saw the demand and made it a stand alone item.
I would assume (maybe dangerous) that the problem is Walthers. While the shell is made by MT, the chassis is a Walthers SW1200/900 chassis. So are they having trouble depending of Walthers for parts?
One might speculate that the "trouble" is the size of the minimum order quantity required to obtain the chassis. Instead of at a rate of a few hundred pieces, or so, every month - as MTL might produce the complete locos - the chassis supplier probably wants to build and ship several thousand all at once.
This doesn't have anything to do with Walthers, but the staggering increase in prices from china, coupled with staggering MOQ's. They've fully embraced capitalism at out expense We could continue to order chassis but the finished price of the engine would continue to double I suspect. Joe
The trouble is and always will be the ego's in China. Once we get manufacturing back to America we can resolve some of those many issues.
Joe, are we getting to the point that bringing the mechanisms back stateside makes financial sense? I for one would love to see a renaissance in US manufacturing for our hobby, and M-T is well positioned to lead the way. Imagine a stateside contractor doing what Kader traditionally did...
Unfortunately, my guess would be that initial costs of ramping up manufacturing here in the US would still be too expensive. Die costs alone would be staggering and a manufacturer wouldn't break even until years of multiple runs had been sold. Then there is still the added costs of maintaining a work force that China doesn't have to bear - State & Federal employer requirements, safety costs, union demands, bonding & insurance costs, job assurance for medical leave and pregnancy, injury claims, etc, etc.
Joe, NO they have not embraced capitalism, capitalism is based on competition, everything in China is controlled by the government. The real truth is they've finally realized they have you by the short hairs and they are going to make you pay for what you want. This is what happens in Socialism when the government controls everything, there is no longer competition.
Look at what Bachmann is now charging for their train cars now and look at what MT charges for theirs which are made in the united states in Oregon. We have the technology and ability as well as the talent to manufacture here in the us and get a superior product to what is made in China!
Hummm! I wonder what they are teaching kids in our public school systems, these days? So, we think who? Is not going to make the SW1500? Oh good, now I can charge more for the one I have and want to sell. Let's drive the price up and inflate the ...well...out of it. Or not!
Micro Trains is still taking Pre Orders on their site. I just placed an order or one of the Kodachrome editions Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
